In the field of education, it is well known that bulletin board displays are an integral part of the teaching process. Said displays are used for a multitude of purposes, including skills instruction, incentive promotion and/or recognition. Among the skill instruction uses, for example, are mathematics, phonetics, and geography.
It is also well known that significant time, energy and raw materials are required to prepare such displays, dismantle them after use and, where possible, store them. A goal of educators today is to reduce the time required to complete such administrative tasks so that more time can be devoted to instructional purposes. A second goal of educators today is to reduce storage requirements of teaching materials to provide greater learning areas for their students. A further goal of educators is to reduce waste and thereby conserve resources. In view of these goals, it is thereby desirable to save valuable teaching time and to be able to conveniently store and reuse bulletin board displays and display materials.
Other displays devices have been produced to serve various functions. Typical of the art are those displays disclosed in the following U.S. patents:
______________________________________ U.S. Pat. No. Inventor(s) Issue Date ______________________________________ 641,283 C. A. Evans Jan 16, 1900 1,225,305 J. H. Barnard May 05, 1917 1,272.021 H. D'Olier, Jr. Jul 09, 1918 1,509,407 A. E. MacQuarrie Sep 23, 1924 1,816,353 M. Anderson Jul 28, 1931 4,178,700 A. M. Dickey Dec 18, 1979 4,624,642 A. N. Ferrara Nov 25, 1986 ______________________________________
The display disclosed by Evans in the '283 patent is a longitudinally mounted and framed cushion which is covered by a screened gauze field and marked by insertion of pins through the field. This particular display lacks durability, flexibility, convenience of preserving the entire display in an assembled form and ease of storage.
The '305 patent issued to Barnard discloses sectional mountings for charts, maps, diagrams and the like using a series of interlocking blocks for convenience of storage. This particular display lacks the flexibility of structure and of diverse applications and the convenience of preserving the display in assembled form.
The '021 patent issued to D'Olier, Jr. discloses a fixed chart used with diagrams or words indicating variable degrees of light concentration obtainable by varying combinations of lamp wattage, holders, and reflectors. Like the '283 patent, this particular display lacks the convenience of dimension. Like the '305 patent, this particular display lacks the flexibility of use and storage.
The '407 patent issued to MacQuarrie discloses a support device that may be affixed to classrooms walls to support maps hung in a variety of positions. This particular display appears to be inapplicable to the subject invention.
The '353 patent issued to Anderson discloses a display comprised of a plurality of transparent or semitransparent sheets which may stand alone or be employed in combination for advertising, amusement or education. This particular display lacks versatility of application, durability and ease of use and storage of the subject invention.
The '700 patent issued to Dickey discloses a rectangular board constructed to fold in half and be portable. During use, the panel may be hung by the handle using a nail, screw or other projection. The face of the board bears a background design and slot pockets to secure scenery changes and show pieces. This particular board lacks the ease of use and storage, the convenience of preserving the display in its assembled form, and the versatility of use of the claimed invention.
The '642 patent issued to Ferrara discloses a wood-framed, metallic "apparatus" upon which views of the human spine are described. Magnetized pieces depicting portions of the spine are used to overlay the spine and demonstrate variations in spinal integrity. Like the '700 patent, this panel also lacks the flexibility, ease of storage and versatility of use of the claimed invention.
Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide a means for using and reusing bulletin board displays and storing said displays in a readily accessible manner.